Nine Kinds of Hell
by The Oni
Summary: The Kyuubi attacked Konoha for many reasons. Unfortunately for her, Hinata is going to discover each and every one.
1. Chapter 1

Nine Kinds of Hell

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Please, do not sue me. Thanks.

Okay, folks, I've been saying for quite some time that I'll post this monstrosity, and I'm finally going to do it. If you see any glaring, gaping plotholes, please let me know. This was actually my first attempt at fanfiction, my second being sickness. However, sickness got posted first, being the first one to be completed. I _still_ haven't finished this one, but if I don't start posting it now, I never will. So, without further ado, I give you:

Nine Kinds of Hell - Chapter 1

* * *

The first thing that Hinata noticed as she sat down at the Ichiraku ramen stand was that the butterflies in her stomach weren't going away. The second thing she noticed was that Naruto wasn't there, meaning that she had either missed him or beaten him. Finally, she noticed that the girl behind the counter was staring at her. A blush found its way to her face.

A slightly amused look crossed the waitress's features, and she turned to the back. "Oh, father? Put a few extra pots of ramen on the stove. It looks like Naruto-kun is going to be stopping by here soon." Hinata winced. Was it really that easy to tell why she was here? Her father would kill her if word got back to him.

"Would you like anything while you wait, Hyuuga-sama?"

"Umm… One miso ramen please." was the whispered response.

A few moments passed as the ramen was cooked, and placed in front of her. She paid her compliments, and neatly broke her chopsticks, before starting to eat. She didn't get very far before a blonde and orange nexus of chaos swept into the restaurant.

"Hey old man! I need four deluxe ramen to go!" Again, Hinata winced. The butterflies seemed to have called for reinforcements in the form of a large wrecking crew, who were wreaking havoc on her stomach. She started to turn her face away, when blue eyes locked on her. A small smile replaced his usual fox-smirk as he looked at her.

"Hinata! I didn't see you there! Oi, Ayame-chan, make one of those ramen to stay. No, better yet, make me an extra deluxe ramen." With that, Naruto sat down beside her, turning his stool so they sat face to face. Hinata noticed out of the corner of her eye, that the waitress had a slight blush on her face as she took his order, and for a brief instant, an irrational surge of jealousy flared up. _"Calm down, Hinata, she's almost twice his age!"_

Silence reigned as his food was being prepared. Hinata desperately tried to think of some way to start a conversation with Naruto, but was discarding ideas almost as rapidly as she came up with them. It stayed that way until Ayame brought Naruto his ramen, and he began to eat.

"So, Hinata, how's the training going? I'm expecting to see you in this year's jounin exam. Why you haven't taken it yet is beyond me. I think you'd make a great jounin!" He rattled off excitedly, a few noodles hanging from his lips. Hinata felt a small smile grace her lips. He said the nicest things, even if she couldn't quite bring herself to believe them.

"My fa-father says I'm not good enough yet, Naruto-kun. He won't let me take the exam until I can beat Hanabi at least once. He says that I need to work on my fighting skills a little more." said Hinata, which was mostly true. Actually, the words he tended to use when describing her skills were "abysmal" or "appalling". After the last fight with her sister, he also accused her of lacking in killer intent. He had then gone on to describe, in detail, exactly how she should have crushed her little sister's heart inside her chest.

"But you're eighteen! Aren't you legally allowed to take it without a guardian's permission now? Besides, you're already above most ANBU I know, let alone jounin. Why not take the exam, and show him what you can really do?" Naruto pouted a little, his disbelief evident. Hinata fought down the urge to kiss him.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but if I go against my father's wishes, he may have me removed from the clan permanently. I don't want to lose what family I have left."

"Hmm… Then maybe I get Sakura-chan to help you train! If she teaches you, I'm sure you can show your father! After all, she was trained by a sannin!"

Naruto looked quite pleased with his solution, but Hinata couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt. _"Naruto-kun… You were trained by a sannin too. Why wouldn't you offer to help me?"_ Still, Hinata was never one to turn down help, especially help coming from blonde ninja with blue eyes. She managed a quick nod as the wrecking crew decided to reassert its presence.

"Thank you Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled, and then gestured at his empty bowl. "Well, I'm done here, and I don't want the rest of the ramen to get cold. I'll have Sakura come by later to talk to you about some kind of training. Is later tonight okay?"

Hinata managed a nod before he grabbed his order and began to run off. A simple wave over his shoulder was his only farewell. Hinata finished her ramen, paid the bill, and walked out the door. She never saw the white eyes of another Hyuuga gazing intently at her retreating figure.

* * *

Later that night, Sakura came to the door of the Hyuuga clan manor, with two bags full of scrolls. _**"Damn that Naruto! Asking me to work on my night off!"**_ came the enraged voice of Inner Sakura. Sakura ignored it, as she had long ago learned to do. It wasn't that she had a problem with helping Hinata, she told herself, it's just that Naruto had sprung this on her at the last minute, and she really wanted to see if some of the things she had heard from Tsunade would work on Sasuke…

"Ah, Haruno-san, do come in. We've been expecting you."

Sakura nodded to the guard at the gates. She vaguely recognized him from one of the other times she had been sent by Tsunade to deal with the Hyuuga. She was led to the training dojo, and ushered inside. Hinata sat in the middle of the room, meditating. Sakura began to shuffle through the first bag of scrolls she was carrying. _"Let's see, what should I start her out with. Chakra control, why did I even bring this? She's a Hyuuga, she probably has better control than __**I**__ do. Medical jutsu, nope, too advanced to just hand her, I'll wait until later tonight. Ooh. How to increase nerve sensitivity through applied jutsu. I wonder if Sasuke-kun would be willing to help me _test_ that one. Hmm… What are Hinata's weaknesses?"_

Sakura thought for a few moments. Hinata wasn't actually known for having any real weaknesses. She didn't have many ninjutsu or genjutsu, true, but few Hyuuga did. She had excellent chakra control, rivaling that of most medic nin. Her taijutsu style was considered to be unparalleled, and although Hinata wasn't considered a master of the style, Sakura still believed that Hinata was a more effective martial artist than she could hope to be. Sakura felt a little lost. _"Why in God's name hasn't this girl been promoted yet?"_

Sakura already knew the answer to that little question, however. Hinata didn't have problems with her skills, but with her attitude. She was kind, and generally didn't want to hurt people, so when she fought, she always held back, even if it was just a little bit. She probably didn't even realize that she was doing it. When you combined that with her lack of self confidence, you had someone who, although technically skilled, would be unlikely to win a fight. _"So I have to increase her self confidence? Naruto, this is more your field. Why ask me to train Hinata?"_

Sakura looked through the scrolls again, trying to find something that might help build Hinata's confidence. She had read several scrolls on psychology, but she didn't have the time to apply anything like that, especially if she needed to be trained before the next jounin exam. If only Hinata didn't think she was weak! _"Wait, weak?"_ Sakura grinned evilly.

"That's perfect!" she muttered to herself. A small surprised jerk from the person in front of her informed Sakura that Hinata was aware of her presence. Sakura cracked her knuckles. "Okay Hinata! Let's get started! First, let's get you warmed up. Give me 20 laps around the dojo."

As Hinata hastened to comply, Inner Sakura was busy congratulating Outer Sakura. Her plan was simple: if she taught Hinata a technique that would make her physically strong, she could use that connection to make her mentally stronger as well. Sakura knew that she might get into trouble for teaching Hinata her strength ability, but since Hinata's style was Jyuuken, or 'gentle fist', she would almost certainly never use it in actual combat. It would serve to create the image in Hinata's mind that she wasn't a weak little girl, but a strong young woman. Sakura had the makings of a plan on how to do just that. By the time Hinata had finished her laps, Sakura knew exactly what she was going to do.

"Okay, Hinata! Now, here's what we're going to do. See those training dummies over there? I want you to walk over and punch one as hard as you can. I'm going to be teaching you a few things about fighting, so I'm going to have you go over it a few times. Then we'll work on some chakra exercises, and I'll show you some medical jutsu." Sakura intentionally left out the strength jutsu exercises, as she didn't want Hinata to think that she was 'cheating' at getting stronger.

Sakura watched as Hinata threw her first punch. It was actually fairly impressive, as far as punches went. Excellent form, good follow through, the right twist to the hips, even her feet were properly positioned to maximize force. Sakura nodded thoughtfully.

"Hey, that's pretty good. I think I know a way to make it a little more forceful, though." Sakura positioned herself behind Hinata, and held on to her arm, as she moved it through the punch. While she was doing that, she sent a barely detectable line of molded chakra into Hinata's arm. It was a simple technique, one used to teach children how to access their chakra. Sakura hoped that Hinata would subconsciously associate that specific chakra flow with throwing a punch.

"Punch again."

After Hinata's next attempt, Sakura repeated the process, again under the pretext of 'improving Hinata's form', while she watched carefully. Hinata did seem to be improving in the strength of her blows.

"Punch again." Was that a crack in the dummy? Another 'correction'.

"Punch again." Okay, that crack had spread. Another 'correction'

"Punch again." The dummy tore in two as the girl hit it again.

Sakura couldn't be sure if it was just because the dummy was damaged from the other punches. It had been rather old. Then Sakura caught sight of Hinata's face. The expression of shock and disbelief was so comical that Sakura had to choke down her laughter. Sakura wondered if she had ever had a similar expression on her face when she had unexpectedly succeeded at something. _"Hmm… I should reinforce the 'strong' image. I don't want her to start thinking that she screwed up."_ "That was amazing Hinata! You're a really quick study!" Sakura cheered. And, in truth, Sakura was impressed. When Tsunade had taught her how to augment her strength, it had taken her a full day of effort to see any effect at all. Hinata seemed to have some limited results in five punches. Perhaps she should recommend this training style the next time she saw Tsunade.

As she was musing to herself, the door to the dojo slid open, and Hiashi walked in. He looked around the room, and then at Sakura. Sakura bristled at the cold expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura demanded. She mentally groaned as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Maybe Naruto was having too much of an effect on her actions these days. She sounded like she was accusing the head of the Hyuuga clan of intruding in his own house! Hinata had just torn a wooden training dummy in half! Considering how loud it had been, it wouldn't be surprising if he was concerned for his daughter. What on earth was she thinking?! Sakura was so busy berating herself that she almost missed it when Hiashi began to speak.

"I heard a disturbance, and was concerned that someone might be foolish enough to attempt to abduct my useless daughter again. It would be detrimental to the clan if her eyes were to be removed and studied. Additionally, should they deduce how worthless she would be and leave her body behind, the irritation and expense of having to care for one such as her would inconvenience our family. Based on these things, I was obligated to investigate. Might I ask what you are doing here, Haruno-san? Surely Tsunade didn't send you to assassinate my training dummies?"

Sakura was shocked. Was this was the warmth and tenderness that Hinata's family showed her? Didn't he notice that Hinata was the one standing in front of the ruined dummy with splinters of wood in her hand? Useless? Worthless? No wonder Hinata had such self confidence issues! Sakura was surprised that she wasn't a gibbering wreck in an asylum somewhere! _**"Who the hell does he think he is, talking to his daughter like that?"**_ Surprisingly, that comment hadn't come from Inner Sakura, who had for once been shocked into silence.

"I am here to help Hinata train, Hiashi-sama." stated Sakura coldly, "She's really quite amazing. Her strength rivals mine and Tsunade's, and her taijutsu skills are excellent. As for 'assassinating your training dummies', as you so quaintly put it, it wasn't me who shattered that dummy, it was Hinata." Inner Sakura looked out at Hiashi, screaming things best left unprinted. Hiashi looked completely unfazed.

"Indeed. Tell me, why would you be teaching my daughter such a useless ability? The Jyuuken style has no need for such abject displays of strength, something I was certain that even Hinata understood. It appears that I was sorely overestimating her intelligence. Still, perhaps you can teach her how to be a good little servant once she gets branded with the branch family seal. That, at least, should not be beyond her abilities."

Hiashi walked away before Sakura could think rationally enough to voice a coherent reply. "Please do not destroy any more of my dummies. Unlike some things, they serve an important function for the Hyuuga clan." he said, and then he slid the door shut.

Sakura sputtered impotently for a few moments, before turning to Hinata. The girl seemed almost unaffected by the event, as if this was an expected occurrence. To her horror, Sakura realized that that could very easily be the case. Sakura was unable to come up with anything that could express her disbelief at what had just transpired, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"So, how about we get started on those medical jutsu?"

* * *

Hinata bade Sakura goodnight, and went straight to bed, as she had no desire to see her father after the incident in the dojo. It had felt oddly nice to destroy that one dummy. She hadn't felt like such a failure, even if it wasn't applicable to her normal style of fighting. Then he had come in and again crushed her hopes that she wasn't completely useless.

Sakura-san had taught her some interesting medical jutsu though, and had even left a full bag of the scrolls behind for her to study. Hinata still had some energy left over from the physical portion of her training session, and pulled one out. It was a treatise on self healing, specifically on regenerating wounds inflicted in battle. Strangely enough, the scroll seemed to be more about theories than actual jutsu. It made several references to someone named 'Kabuto', who Hinata seemed to remember Naruto mentioning. Perhaps they were friends. Then another name caught her eye: Uzumaki Naruto.

If Naruto had been involved in creating this scroll, even indirectly, then she wanted to know everything within it. She walked over to her desk, and pulled out some paper, intent on copying the scroll. Sakura would eventually want it back, and Hinata might miss out on a small part of Naruto's life. This way she could read about him again, if she so desired.

Hinata began to read in earnest. The parts on Kabuto documented his regeneration techniques, and how even a full strength rasengan had failed to put him down. Naruto's section was far more complete however. It documented chakra flows, moldings, and even a theoretical set of hand seals to replicate his abilities. However, it was made quite clear in the scroll that whatever regenerative qualities Naruto had were not a technique. In fact, the scroll made it sound like a bloodline.

Hinata entertained that idea for a few moments, before discarding it. She had been trained in the various types of bloodlines since she was a child, and there had never been mention of anything like this. She sighed, and began to read again.

The next part of the scroll made her feel faint. It was a listing of the wounds that Naruto was known to have survived. Unlike Kabuto's short list of 'rasengan to the mid torso area', Naruto's list took up a fair amount of space. Scrapes, bruises, lacerations, muscle tears, broken bones, sucking chest wounds, fatal heart trauma. The list went on and on. There was even an entry for having his tenketsu sealed! All recovered in a day or less. The only problem seemed to be the amount of chakra it would take, which was truly monstrous. However, the longer she read the more ideas for techniques that could be used against the Byakuugan swirled in her mind.

Hinata read late into the night, studying this fascinating new facet of Naruto's life. As she finished copying each scroll, she hid her copy under the floorboards in her room. She didn't want her father to find out she had scrolls with information on Naruto. She would be in so much trouble, especially if he found about her interest in Naruto! Eventually, Hinata fell asleep, dreaming of love, acceptance, and the one she wanted both from.

* * *

Any other father would have reacted differently to the paper that was lying on his desk. Any other father would have been happy to read that they might not have to curse their daughter to a lifetime of servitude. Any other father would have been more than pleased at the knowledge that his daughter still had a chance of being accepted by her family. Hyuuga Hiashi was not any other father however. The paper was a letter from the council of the Hyuuga elders. They had apparently overruled His decision to have His eldest daughter banished from the main house and become a branch family member. She was to receive one more chance to redeem herself in a fight with her little sister, Hanabi.

Hyuuga Hiashi was disappointed in the council. He could not understand why they refused to bow to His wishes. Only He knew what was best for His clan, but they continued to question His decisions. He knew that His eldest daughter would only shame Him with her fighting skills, which were so outclassed by Hanabi. His eldest daughter was weak, and there was no point in trying to change that. She would forever be a stain on His pride, both as a Hyuuga, and a father. Surely such a failure could not be His progeny. Perhaps His wife had been unfaithful? Hiashi Hyuuga quickly discarded that idea, as He had many times in the past. His wife had been a branch house member, completely terrified of His ability to end her life at any moment. She never would have had the courage to seek a paramour. In retrospect, it was probably her weakness that was passed down to His eldest daughter. He had been right, all those years ago, to activate her cursed seal and put her down. She had failed to bear Him a son for the second time, and He had no use for a pet who would not give Him what He desired.

Hyuuga Hiashi looked at the paper again, before placing it in the embers of the fireplace. He saw no need to inform His eldest daughter of the upcoming battle. If His eldest daughter was unable to defeat Hanabi as she was, she certainly had no place in His clan. And He was certain that she would fail, for Hyuuga Hiashi made no mistakes.

* * *

Hinata awoke to the sound of knocking at her door. She blearily glanced at the clock on her wall, only to bolt upright in shock. It was already noon! She always got up at seven, at the latest! Her father would kill her! She quickly scrambled up, and timidly opened the door, preparing herself to face her enraged father. Instead, she saw pink hair, as Sakura pushed her way into her room, again carrying a bag of medical scrolls. For once, an embarrassed flush was on Sakura's face, and not Hinata's.

"I'm sorry to just barge in here like this, but I kind of messed up last night. I left the wrong bag of scrolls behind. These are the scrolls that you're supposed to be studying." said Sakura, as she flung the bag of scrolls at Hinata. Hinata reflexively caught them, as Sakura scooped up the scrolls that Hinata had copied the night before. To Hinata's trained eye it looked like Sakura was forcing herself to remain relaxed.

"So, did you understand anything in those scrolls?" asked Sakura. The slightly worried tone of Sakura's voice screamed warnings to Hinata. There was something in the scrolls about Naruto that she wasn't supposed to see; something that Sakura didn't want her to see, and Sakura was trying to figure out if she had read them. Hinata felt another flare of irrational jealousy, one that was far more powerful than the one she had felt towards Ayame. _"Sakura already gets to see Naruto every time they go on missions together. I just want to keep a small part of him for myself, and she wants to take that away from me! I won't let her!"_

"No, after training yesterday, I was quite exhausted. I'm afraid I came right up to bed, and didn't even have time to read them." The lie slipped easily from Hinata's lips. "I was planning to read them this afternoon. Why? Was there anything important in those scrolls?" She put a little bit of clueless innocence in her voice, much as she had seen Naruto do when he was younger. Fortunately, it seemed to work, as Sakura relaxed imperceptibly.

"Oh, not too much. Just some jutsu that are too basic to teach someone like you. They're used for training the chakra control needed to become a medic-nin, and I had them left over from when I was getting started. Of course, as a Hyuuga, you've already mastered chakra control beyond what would be expected in those scrolls." Sakura rambled. Despite the lie that was behind it, Hinata blushed at the praise. "I didn't want you to think that I thought so little of your skills." Sakura stretched, working out a kink in the back of her neck. "Hey, since I'm here already, and I have some time off, how about we go over some of these medical jutsu? I'm sure that we can have you trained in no time!"

Hinata smiled. "Thank you Sakura-san. I'd like that."

"Great! Then let's get going! There's this training ground that Team Seven used to use. It's perfect for training undisturbed, and after what your father said yesterday, I'm not inclined to train you here. C'mon!" said Sakura, as she grabbed Hinata's hand. Hinata gave one last glance to where the scrolls were hidden as she was being dragged off, and then obediently followed Sakura. She had a long day ahead of her.

Hinata was lying on her back completely exhausted, staring at the stars. The training that Sakura had just put her through had been particularly brutal. The six hours of medical jutsu training had been draining, and when Sakura had packed away her training scrolls, Hinata had thought that they were done for the day. Instead, Sakura had pulled out her fighting gloves, and sank into a fighting stance. _"Who would have thought that Sakura had the endurance to fight for four straight hours?"_

Hinata groaned in pain as she stood up, her muscles protesting every movement. She had trained for this long before, but the focus had always been on technique, not endurance, or strength. Her only breaks had come when Sakura had halted their battle to correct Hinata's form. It seemed that she had a slight flaw in her movements that Sakura was obsessing about. Hinata still couldn't figure out what it was, but the changes it made in her combat form were staggering. After Sakura was done walking her through her form again, her punches came much swifter, and stronger. She was sure that it was some basic rule for form that she had forgotten, as whenever she was walked through a move by Sakura, she had the oddest feeling of déjà vu.

Hinata began to slowly walk home, still thinking about her training. Another thing that was nagging at her mind was why she was training her in a style that was essentially worthless to her? Jyuuken wasn't a hard style of combat like tekken was, so skill and speed were the most important aspects to have. She might have understood if she had been fighting against Sakura. Hinata was no stranger to the concept of learning about how to fight against a style. But learning to fight using the style itself? It didn't make sense!

Hinata massaged her temples, as the frustration of trying to figure out her new teacher started to give her a headache. Sakura was both intelligent and well trained. There must be some reason behind her focus on teaching her tekken. She would ask Sakura about it when they next met for training. Hopefully it would all make sense then.

Arriving at the Hyuuga manor, the guards paid Hinata no heed as she walked into the grounds. She went to the servant's quarters to get a quick meal. After ten hours of training, she was famished. Piecing together something from the refrigerator, she found her thoughts drifting to her favorite topic, Naruto; specifically, the scrolls on Naruto hidden beneath a floorboard in her room. Now that she was arguably more awake then she had been earlier, she felt horrible about lying to Sakura. Hinata knew that Sakura didn't have any designs on Naruto herself. She was still too infatuated with Sasuke to pay any real attention to him.

As Hinata ate, she wondered if she should confess to Sakura that she had read the scrolls. Despite her guilt at having lied, Hinata couldn't quite convince herself to do that. If she told Sakura, word might get back to Naruto. What would he think of her then? He already thought of her as "Shy, dark, and weird". Did she really want to add liar to that list as well? Hinata concluded that as long as no one found out about her scrolls, she was safe. Why would she want to make things harder for herself than they already were? Satisfied with her reasoning, she finished her sandwich and headed to bed. Sakura would be back tomorrow, and Hinata suspected that tomorrow wouldn't be any easier than today had been.

* * *

Eight days later found Hinata ensconced in her room. She had continued her training with Sakura, and although the medical training was fairly consistent, Sakura kept increasing the pace of her physical training, pushing Hinata beyond what she thought were her limits. After seven days of bone wearying exhaustion, Sakura had declared today to be a day to recuperate, and had given her the day off. Since Naruto was out on a mission, Hinata wasn't spending her free time watching the object of her affections. She had instead settled on the next best thing, and was re-reading the scrolls that she had diligently copied. She was also trying to move as little as possible, but that had more to do with sore muscles than anything else.

As Hinata read, she found that, along with her original fascination with the scrolls as a way of becoming closer to Naruto, there was also a growing interest in the healing abilities that he was listed as displaying. If she could emulate how he had reopened his tenketsu, she would never have to fear her sister's skill at Jyuuken again! Of course, she also wouldn't be able tell anyone about how to do it, unless she wanted to cripple her own fighting style. Hinata was enjoying her training in tekken, but she did still prefer her family style.

Hinata was currently reading a scroll documenting Naruto's chakra circulatory system. _"That's odd,"_ she thought, looking at the scroll _"I didn't think it was possible for chakra to flow like this. His tenketsu are all in the right places, but for this kind of movement, he'd have to have a secondary source of chakra. The only problem with that theory is that no one has a secondary source of chakra. It's impossible."_

Hinata began to mentally review what she knew of chakra. The chakra circulatory system traveled through certain set paths in the body, regulated by the tenketsu. Chakra was generated in the area around the heart. Chakra was created through the fusion of two separate sources of energy, physical and spiritual. Physical energy could be increased through physical training that increased endurance, taijutsu being the prime example. Spiritual energy could be increased through learning and experience. And that was the problem right there. You'd either need two physical bodies, or two souls, to have two sources of chakra.

Now there was a thought: two physical bodies. Naruto used kage bunshin all the time, maybe he had developed a technique to create an extra chakra system? No, that wasn't possible either. Besides, a kage bunshin wasn't technically a separate physical body, but a manifestation of molded chakra. Even if that were possible, several scrolls had indicated that Naruto had had this ability since he was very young, just after his birth. So it had to be something that was done to him, not something that he had developed himself.

Hinata thought about that, for a few minutes. Tsunade had left the village long before Naruto was born, but she had left behind many of her untested theories on healing and regeneration. If someone had tested one of them out, who would be a better subject than an orphaned boy? Naruto didn't have any parents, and in the confusion created by the demon's attack, it would have been easy for an unscrupulous medic-nin to experiment on a child.

Things began to fall into place in Hinata's excited mind. If someone had altered Naruto, it would have brought back horrible memories of what Orochimaru had done all those years ago! No wonder everyone's parents had warned their children to stay away from Naruto! If anyone had even suspected that Naruto might be controlled by someone, they wouldn't have wanted their children to associate with him! He would have been shunned like a rabid dog!

Hinata frantically clawed for a scroll that she had seen something that hadn't made any sense earlier. She almost tore the scroll in half while she was opening it; her hands were shaking so badly. There it was: "The differences in Uzumaki Naruto's physical abilities are directly related to the one who was with him after his birth." Taken in that context, someone must have operated on him after he was born!

Hinata was elated. She didn't just have a chance to become stronger. She also thought she had figured out one of the things that had puzzled her about Naruto for the better part of twelve years. Hinata entertained a brief fantasy of Naruto telling her how smart she was for having discovered his secret, and then kissing her, leaving her with a slight blush. _"If only that could really happen."_ Hinata would just have to satisfy herself with what little someone like her could get.

Hinata sighed at the melancholy thought. She wished that Naruto would display a little bit of interest in her in the way she wanted him to. She knew she really didn't have a chance with him. She was the dark, weird girl on the periphery of his life, while Sakura was the girl on whom he focused. She knew that if Sakura ever said yes to one of his advances, she would completely lose him. Fortunately, Sasuke had been open to Sakura's advances since his return from Orochimaru. As long as no one new entered the picture and confessed to Naruto, she still had a chance, however small, to capture his heart.

Hinata got to her feet, and pushed open her door. She had to prove herself as strong to Naruto. She didn't want to fail in front of him again, like she had during the chuunin exam. If she could just figure out what had been done to him, she could easily pass the Jounin exams. Perhaps she would finally have the luck to be placed on his team. Blushing, she scurried towards the largest repository of knowledge on Chakra systems in the world: The Hyuuga library.

* * *

As the weeks passed, Hinata fell into a kind of routine: Get up, train with Sakura until exhausted, rest one hour, research chakra sources. If Naruto was in town, she would skip research to try and catch a glimpse of him, but there was war brewing in water country, so his workload was large enough that she rarely got to see him. In fact, in the month that she had been training under Sakura, she had only seen him once. It had just been a glimpse of him running towards the Hokage's tower, but it had been enough for her to draw strength from.

_"If I used some sort of seal, I might be able to partition my chakra into two sources"_ she thought, again buried within one of the Hyuuga scrolls. _"But then I couldn't access them both at the same time. I'd halve my chakra for almost no results. Wait… What's this?"_

The scroll had a reference to a scroll she had yet to read. Oddly, it didn't have a title, just a reference number. She quickly got up to find the scroll. It looked ancient. The scroll seemed… wrong somehow. It didn't feel like it was made of paper. _"It must be leather. That would make this scroll…"_ Hinata did some mental calculations, and boggled at the number she came up with. Something like this belonged in a museum, not in the family library. _"I might as well take a look at it."_

Hinata carefully unrolled the scroll. It still felt pliable, not cracked and dry like she had expected. The words on the scroll weren't archaic either, a fact that had Hinata questioning the authenticity of her find. _"This must be some joke scroll. If it were really centuries old, I doubt I'd even be able to read this. Oh well. I could use a break."_ Hinata stretched out, and began reading the scroll, expecting a jutsu description like Naruto's "sexy no jutsu". What she read almost took her breath away.

"Chakra is formed by two separate sources of energy, both physical and spiritual. To fully understand the nature of these energy sources, we must first determine how they might be duplicated, or transferred. Since duplication is considered impossible, it is the purpose of this text to show how to seal an additional chakra source into a person. I believe I have developed a forty seal technique that will allow one to create this desired result."

This was it! This was what she had spent all of her time searching for! Hinata grabbed her brush, and began to copy the scroll into her notes. She didn't want to miss any of the information within, and something this old would never be allowed out of the building. There were even hand-seals listed! _"It can't be this easy, can it?"_

Much to Hinata's displeasure, she was right. As she read further into the scroll, the characters were noticeably more faded and illegible. She could easily make out the first seals, but as the jutsu description went on, she had a harder and harder time deciphering the instructions. _"Leather really shouldn't be written on. It doesn't hold ink very well. Oh no…"_

Hinata stared at the final instructions for performing the jutsu. There was a large burn where the last two hand seals should have been. Hinata carefully closed the scroll. She wasn't willing to take her frustration at being stymied out on the scroll. It wasn't its fault for being old. A happier thought occurred to her. There were only two seals that she didn't have in her jutsu. If she could just figure out what the last two could be, she would have something that only belonged to her and Naruto. Something that bound just the two of them together. All she had to do was figure out two seals. Two simple seals.

Hinata gathered up her notes, and dashed out of the library. She knew just the person to ask for help. Sakura was out of the question, since the line of research that she was working on was too similar to the scrolls she "hadn't" read. She couldn't ask Naruto, because he might tell Sakura. Most of her original team was out on a mission. That left one jounin that she felt she could trust with this.

Hinata burst out of the main house, and ran across the compound, where Neji made his home. She rapped her knuckles against the door, barely able to keep herself from running inside in her excitement. The door slid open, and instead of Neji's normally stoic face, Hinata found herself looking into the smiling face of Hyuuga Tenten.

"Hinata! It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?" she said, a note of pleasant surprise in her voice.

"Hello Tenten-san. I was wondering if Neji-ni-san was in." Hinata asked, her eyes large and hopeful. Tenten smiled and opened the door wider, allowing Hinata entrance to her home.

"Not right now, Hinata. He had something to do, but I'm expecting him home any minute now. Would you like to come in and talk while we wait?" Hinata nodded, and walked in through the doorway. Neji's quarters within the branch family house were fairly spacious. The décor left a little to be desired, though. The walls practically dripped with weapons of all types, from simple kunai to one particularly wicked looking kusari-gama. Obviously Tenten had a hand in the layout of her house, but Hinata thought that it was a little excessive; she felt more like she was in an armory than a home. Tenten led the way through the front rooms to a surprisingly normal dining room that overlooked a small internal courtyard. Tenten sat down at the table, and gestured for Hinata to do the same.

"So, Hinata, how've you been? It's been ages since I've seen you. When was the last time we talked, anyway?"

Hinata mentally slapped herself. She hadn't been by to visit her cousin's wife since they had been married, almost a year ago. When she hadn't been busy training, she had been too preoccupied with her own problems to walk across the Hyuuga compound and just visit. She didn't even know if Tenten was still an active ninja or not!

"I'm fine, Tenten-san. I've been keeping busy with training. If I ever want to take the jounin exam, I have to be in top form."

"Yeah, I remember the jounin exam. They put me on a team with Naruto and Sasuke." Tenten paused, chuckling. "I've never seen two people who got along so poorly. They sent us out on a mock assassination mission, and I thought that they were going to kill each other long before we got within range of the target."

"Ano… Tenten-san? Wasn't-"

"Just Tenten, Hinata. We're family now."

"S-sorry. Tenten. Wasn't Sasuke already a jounin by the time that you took the exam?"

"Yeah, he was, right up until Hokage-sama busted him back to chuunin." Tenten smirked, "Apparently, his teamwork was so poor that she took his rank away until he could prove that he could at least function with other people. If you ask me, though, he never should have passed that exam. Naruto, of all people, was the one who kept trying to hold us together as a team, despite his constant bickering with Sasuke. Sasuke, on the other hand, kept trying to go off and do things his own way, without even telling us what he had planned. We would have failed the mission, if Naruto hadn't pulled through for us."

Hinata nodded to herself. That sounded like Naruto.

"Honestly, I don't know why Sakura was always harping on about Sasuke. After I spent five minutes with the two of them, Naruto looked far more appealing than Sasuke did."

_**"What?!**__ I'm the only one who's supposed to see Naruto like… No, no, she's married; she wouldn't go after him like that… Would she?"_

"Speaking of Naruto, how are things going with him? Has he finally noticed what's been staring him right in the face for all of these years?"

"N-N-N-Naruto-kun?" she squeaked. "I… We… He…"

"I'll take that as a 'no', then. Cheer up, Hinata. No one else in the village has noticed him in that way yet, all you have to do is swoop in and take him!"

The conversation stalled for a moment, as both of them attempted to wrap their minds around an image of Hinata as the classical predatory female. Neither of them succeeded.

"Okay, maybe not swoop in, but you should at least try to tell him how you feel. I doubt Neji would have made the first move, and he wasn't remotely as clueless about relationships as Naruto. I'm sure that Naruto would jump at the chance to be with a pretty young woman like you." Tenten gave Hinata an almost lecherous grin. "Of course, given his enthusiastic nature, there may end up being more jumping than just at chances.

Hinata blushed furiously at Tenten's insinuation, as she desperately cast about for something besides her love life that she could talk about.

"How are Neji's missions going?" she blurted. _"Stupid Hinata! That won't dissuade her for long!"_

"He's been getting by. He's been complaining that no one is competent enough to replace me, but he hasn't failed any yet." She chuckled again, a slightly wistful look in her eyes. "Not that I've been able to do a mission since Fuki was born." Hinata's eyes widened in surprise. _"Born? What?"_

"I swear she's much harder to deal with than any mission I've ever-"

Tenten was interrupted by a loud, shrill wailing. "Speak of the devil. Hang on Hinata, I'll be right back."

Hinata hunched over, feeling like an idiot. _"How could I have missed something that important?!"_ Hinata thought, as Tenten ran out of the room. Her father was right, she really wasn't worthy of leading a clan, especially if she couldn't even keep track of new additions to her own family. How old was the baby? Hinata didn't even know when her birthday was.

The crying soon stopped, and Hinata got up to leave. She didn't deserve Neji's help. She hadn't even known about his daughter's birth. She was a horrible person. She…

"Hinata-sama? What are you doing here?"

Hinata whirled around to see Neji, standing in the doorway. _"He's sweaty,"_ Hinata observed, _"he must have been running to get home to his wife and child."_ Hinata winced at that thought. _"I can't let him know that I didn't know about his daughter. What kind of person would he think I am? I'll just ask him and leave. I'll try to make it up to him later."_

"Ano… I was just hoping that you would help me with this jutsu I was found. It's incomplete, and I remember you talking about how you could determine how a jutsu would work if you had a partial listing of hand seals."

Neji nodded, as he glanced around. "Yes, it's part of the training I underwent after I achieved jounin." Neji looked impatiently at Hinata. "Could we get to the point, Hinata-sama? I'm really quite busy."

Hinata held up her notes on the scroll she had been working with. "C-could you help me determine the last two seals of this jutsu? The scroll I was working with was damaged."

"I can loan you the text that details how hand seals relate to one another. I still have it in the living room."

Hinata nodded her acceptance, and Neji got up and quickly walked out of the room, just as Tenten walked back in. Tenten smiled at her husband, before sitting down in the chair again.

"Sorry that took so long, but she's really been restless lately."

"T-That's okay, Tenten. I understand." Hinata put on a weak smile to hide the guilt she was still feeling.

Neji walked back in with the text in hand, which he promptly handed over to Hinata. "Here. What you're most likely looking for starts in chapter three." Neji made a show of looking out the window. "You should get home quickly, though. I think that Hiashi was about to start to eat, and you know what he's like when you don't make an appearance."

Hinata bowed to Neji. "Thank you Neji-ni-san. I'll return this book as soon as I'm done with it."

Neji just smirked, as he gestured for Hinata to leave, which she hastened to do.

Hinata ran down the path back to the main house, where she quickly stored the book in her room, before rushing down to dinner. Hanabi and Hiashi were already seated by the time she walked in the room. Twin looks of indifference were directed her way, as her family noted her arrival. _"Hanabi is so much like father, she even has his expressions."_

"Daughter, I see you've finally decided to join us. Whatever took you so long?" asked Hiashi, his voice emotionless.

"S-Sorry, I was just visiting with Neji, Tenten and Fuki… I… I didn't keep track of the time."

A look of confusion spread across Hanabi's face, and she opened her mouth to speak, only to be silenced by a sharp glance from her father.

"Fuki, is it?" Hiashi mused, "Tell me, how is Fuki doing?"

_"Ah, that must be it. Knowing how his niece is doing is more important to him than yelling at me."_

"S-She's fine. I didn't get a chance to go up and see her, but Tenten makes it sound like she's an energetic baby. I'd believe it, too. You can't even tell that she was p-pregnant."

Hiashi nodded, and began to eat. Taking that as their cue, Hinata and Hanabi also ate, and the rest of the meal passed in silence. As Hinata got up to leave, Hiashi turned to her.

"For being late, you will run twenty laps around Konoha before you go to bed. If you cannot be trained to be on time, perhaps at least your legs can be."

Hinata bowed her acquiescence, and left. She had laps to run.

The next day Hinata emerged from bed, feeling completely exhausted. She figured that she had about an hour to read her book before she had to meet Sakura for training. She skimmed through the chapter, looking for any information that might help her.

"Let's see here. Nezumi… Uma… Ryu…" she muttered, "Hebi… Ondori… Saru… Hebi… Hmmm." Hinata compared the seals to the book she had in front of her. "Since nezumi is the 32nd seal, the last seal is tora… It's a targeted jutsu, so 38 and 29 should be inu and tora, but then I'd have tora twice in a row, so that doesn't work…" Hinata consulted the book again. "Oh! Here it is. If tora is required twice, the second tora seal is changed to Ryu!"

Hinata quickly penned in the change, and sat back to look at the completed jutsu in front of her, a rare feeling of accomplishment filtering through her exhaustion. She had done it! She would be able to take the jounin exam! A glance at the clock told her something else about herself. She was going to be late if she didn't leave. Hinata scrambled to collect her things, before sluggishly running to the training grounds.

In her fatigue, Hinata's mind focused not on her surroundings, but instead on images of Naruto praising her as she ran towards the training grounds. Instead of him viewing her as dark or weird, he'd see her as someone who was like him, someone he could view as an equal, maybe even someone he could…

A sharp pain at the base of her skull interrupted her fantasy, and her world faded to black.

"Pick her up, Kisame." said Itachi, staring at the limp form in front of them. "I'll leave the message for Naruto, since I know the way. You get her back to the holding point."

To Be Continued.

Fuki – several meanings, one of which is freedom. I know naming conventions have a basis on how many strokes are in the characters, as I recall, multiples of four are bad. Anyone know how many strokes are in Fuki's name?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. At all. Not even a little bit.

Chapter 2

* * *

Hinata had been having such a nice dream. The details were unclear in her mind, but she knew that it somehow involved Naruto. Now she was in a dark place. It took a moment or two to realize that this was because she had her eyes closed.

_"I wonder if this is going to be a nice dream too." _thought Hinata fuzzily, the strange throbbing feeling in her head making thinking clearly difficult. She felt safe, something that she hadn't felt since her mother died. _"Maybe it's because of whoever's hugging me. I wonder who it is."_

Hinata opened her eyes, and saw spiky blonde hair before her. _"Naruto. Nice dream." _He was the one with his arms around her, and a low murmur of sound was coming from him. _"Very nice dream." _Hinata smiled, and wrapped her arms around him in return. At her touch, Naruto jerked back, breaking her embrace, as he looked at her with wide eyes. Hinata frowned in bemusement. Normally in these kinds of dreams, music would start when she hugged him.

"Hinata! You're okay!"

Naruto seemed to be saying something to her. Hinata attempted to put her addled thoughts together enough to listen to him. It sounded like he was describing a mission he had been on; something about a note. Hinata smiled and nodded, not quite understanding what was going on. Naruto seemed pleased with her response, and she was happy.

"Then promise me, Hinata. Promise me you won't die! No matter what happens, you can't die!"

Hinata looked up at Naruto, slightly disappointed. Normally at this point, he confessed his devotion to her. Where was that music? _"Maybe it won't start until I agree with him."_

"I promise, Naruto-kun. No matter what happens, I won't die."

Hinata felt her eyes beginning to close, and again wrapped her arms around Naruto, leaning against him, as unconsciousness reached out to claim her.

Ah. There was the music.

* * *

A campfire crackled merrily beside her as Hinata stumbled back to consciousness. _"Where am I? Shouldn't I be at home? What's happening?" _all these questions ran through her mind. _"Okay… What's the last thing I remember?"_ A vision of Naruto holding her popped into her head. _"No, no, before I started dreaming. I was going to train with Sakura. Then… Then something hit my head. If I'm not at home or in a hospital, then that means that someone's probably captured me."_

Hinata tensed at that thought. Her father had told her many horror stories of what would happen to her if she was captured. Her eyes would be gouged out, and studied. She would be interrogated by the most proficient specialists available, for information on both her bloodline and Konoha politics. If she was unlucky enough to survive that, then they would tie her to a bed and use her body for breeding stock, to create a new branch of Byakuugan users, one outside of Konoha control.

Hinata's eyes flew open, and she was relieved to discover that she still had them. Her eyes darted around, taking in everything she could see without moving, so she wouldn't alert her abductors that she was now awake. The sight before her was one of stunning normalcy. A simple camp was set up for the night, in the middle of a clearing. Clothing was strung up between two branches, and Naruto was off to one side, apparently doing laundry, while she was in a sleeping bag next to the fire, which had a pot of unidentified content bubbling over it. It smelled like food.

_"Wait a second. Naruto-kun is here?"_

Hinata jerked her head to the side, to stare at Naruto. This turned out to be a mistake, as sensory detail she hadn't noticed before promptly demanded attention. She wasn't sure which was worse, the throbbing pain in her head, or the knotting in her stomach. Either one alone would be bad, but together they hammered away at her mental defences, eliciting a moan from her as she curled up into a ball of agony.

"Here, Hinata." said a voice, from surprisingly close by. A bowl of what appeared to be stew was held out to her. Hinata gazed up at Naruto, surprised he had made it to her side so quickly. His jacket, still wet from the stream, was hanging limply over one of his shoulders, as he grinned down at her. "It's probably been a while since you last ate anything." His grin transformed into a pout. "I had to leave before I could pack anything, so there isn't any ramen. The stew's not too bad though, if you don't mind rabbit." Hinata stared at Naruto in shocked incomprehension, pain mercifully forgotten for a second. _"Naruto never leaves Konoha without ramen. Kakashi-san used to joke about how he had to move a ramen packet out of the way after the fight with Sasuke, just so he could properly field dress Naruto's wounds."_

Naruto frowned as Hinata didn't move to eat. "Oh, c'mon. I'm not that bad of a cook! I do know how to make things other than ramen. After all, I'm going to be Hokage one day, and how can I set an example to other ninja if I can't even take care of myself?" A thoughtful look flitted across his face, before his trademark foxy grin returned. "Although ramen is still the best!"

At that, Hinata came back to herself, and took the bowl from Naruto. The food certainly smelled good, and he had made it himself. She took a few bites of stew, and her stomach pain eased somewhat. Naruto moved away and wrung his jacket out, before hanging it to dry on a nearby tree branch. He puttered around the camp, his boundless energy keeping him moving while she ate. Just as she finished what was in her bowl, he came back, and sat next to her.

"N-Naruto-kun… What happened? Why are we out here?" Hinata asked, suddenly nervous. She mentally cursed her stutter for making its inevitable reappearance so quickly.

"What's the last thing you remember, Hinata?"

Hinata frowned in thought. "I-I was going to meet S-Sakura, and I was running late. I think I remember something hitting me in the head. Then… I woke up…" Hinata blushed, too embarrassed to admit that she had no real recollection after that, except for a remarkably clear dream.

"Then you made your promise to me, I remember." Naruto said, nodding his head in acknowledgement. Hinata paled as her eyes widened in horror. _"That actually happened? But I was hugging him in that dream!" _she wailed mentally, mortified that she had acted so forward with him. Uncertain if Naruto hugging her back had been part of her own interpretation, and unable to bring herself to ask about it, Hinata remained silent, clutching the bowl in her hands with now white knuckles. Naruto continued on, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort.

"I'm not allowed to talk about who took you, but as to why we're out here, I wanted to check you over and make sure that I didn't miss any injuries. I didn't want to have you in the infirmary for months on end because I was stupid enough to let you bleed on the way home. After that, I thought that you could use a break from being moved. Y'know, have a chance to rest instead of being jarred around."

Glad that Naruto hadn't chosen to question why she had held him like she did, Hinata relaxed slightly, and attempted to get the conversation on safer ground.

"Where's the rest of the team? Surely Tsunade-sama didn't send you out alone to find me." Hinata asked, curious as to why no one else was in the vicinity. She would need to thank them properly after they got back to Konoha, and she didn't want to leave anyone out. Naruto flushed, as he looked away from her, a guilty look on his face.

"Tsunade didn't send me, and there is no team. I left Konoha as soon as I knew you were in trouble."

Hinata blushed, only the pain she was suffering made her doubt that she was dreaming. She began to push her index fingers together.

"Why would you do that, Naruto-kun? You'll get in trouble if you leave the village without letting anyone know."

Hinata steeled herself for the disappointment she knew his answer would bring. The last time she had let herself get her hopes up, he had called her "Shy, dark, and weird". She braced herself for the disappointment of hearing him blame it on his responsibility to the village as a future Hokage, while swearing to herself that if it was any other reason, she wouldn't faint.

"Because, Hinata." stated Naruto, a gentle smile replacing his grin. He reached up, and cupped her cheek in his hand "You're very important to my happiness."

Hinata lasted a whole ten seconds before she fainted dead away.

* * *

Hiashi was intimidating as the Head of the main family, and Neji had always been nervous in his presence, but it would be a sign of weakness to allow such emotions to blemish his countenance. Instead, Neji stared impassively at his uncle, waiting to hear the reason he had been summoned, as Hiashi studiously ignored him in favour of a vial in his hands. There was a long silence.

"How is your family doing, Neji?"

Neji blinked. Hiashi never asked about his family. He doubted that Hiashi even cared. Icy fingers of dread began to work their way into his stomach, as he began to suspect the reason his presence had been requested.

"Tenten is fine, Hiashi-sama. She's been busy lately with -"

"I didn't ask about Tenten. I asked about your family." Hiashi looked at Neji with hard, unfeeling eyes. "Keeping a child of the branch family hidden is a crime to the main family, and all Hyuuga. You, of all people, should know my feelings towards traitors to the clan."

Neji paled as his worst fears were confirmed. He had been found out.

"Tell me, Neji. Do you know why we wait until a child is at least five before we administer the family seal? Did you ever wonder why we leave children unprotected during the most vulnerable stage of their life, especially when the cursed seal is meant to protect our secrets from being taken by enemies of the clan? Did you ever wonder?"

Neji stared silently at Hiashi, unwilling to show his confusion at the sudden topic change, as the question that Hiashi had posed ran through his mind. It wasn't something he had ever considered before. It was just the way of things. Still… To risk the clan… There had to be a good reason. The only reason he could thing of was if there was some kind of unknown detriment to the seal. Some effect that wasn't widely known. Something that would only affect the young.

Hiashi looked directly into Neji's eyes. "There are certain unpleasant… side effects… when one uses the family seal on an infant. The developing brain has problems dealing with the intrusion of foreign chakra, and attempts to compensate. Certain mental processes develop abnormally, and early members of the branch family frequently had to be put down before the problem was fully understood. A solution to the problem was eventually found, but it was deemed far too expensive. That, Neji, is why we normally wait until a child is five."

_"Normally…"_ Any color Neji may have had drained from his face at that instant. He was wrong. His worst fears hadn't been realized, they were only just beginning.

Hyuuga Hiashi stared at the boy before Him. Neji would make the perfect servant. After His eldest daughter fell in combat against His Hanabi, He would reassign Neji to guard the new heiress. It was a pity that the child wasn't male. If this Fuki creature was anything like its father, it would have been advantageous to arrange a marriage between Neji's family and Hanabi. Still, it wouldn't do to be distracted. He had an uprising to quell.

"Neji, I want you to understand. If I ever find that you've betrayed me, or failed in your duty again, I will no longer supply you with this." He held up the vial He had been gazing at during the meeting. A small amount of liquid was visible within it. "It's enough for one dose. One dose will be required every month for the next five years if you want to prevent the worst of the side effects your daughter will suffer from."

_"How quaint. The boy actually has tears in his eyes."_

Hyuuga Hiashi shifted his gaze from the boy back to the vial. Such a delightful play of colors.

"That will be all, Neji."

* * *

"Tsk. Couldn't they have been just a little more gentle with her?" a familiar voice grumbled, rousing Hinata from her slumber. She cracked her eyes open, to see Sakura staring at a clipboard at the edge of her bed. "Lets see… I've done the concussion type four checkup, with special attention for side effects from a stasis/sleep jutsu complication; cell count, both white and red; and I've run the generic chakra system analysis tests. All I have left is… a urinalysis for hCG content? That has to be a mistake." Sakura picked up a pen, and scratched something off of the chart. "I swear, if they're asking for that because Naruto brought her back, I'll hunt down the joker who wrote that in and…"

"Sakura-san?" Hinata asked tremulously, uncertain that she wanted to hear what the girl exuding killer intent had planned. Sakura looked up from the chart and smiled.

"Ah, I was wondering how long it would be until you woke up! How was your little adventure? Did you and Naruto get up to anything interesting in the woods?" she asked, a slightly amused look on her face.

Hinata's eyes widened as she recalled the last thing Naruto had said to her. _"He… He said…"_

"Doctor Haruno. We have a call for you at the front desk." a nurse said, poking her head in the doorway. Sakura nodded, and turned to Hinata. "Sorry Hinata, I'll be right back." Hinata nodded, barely registering what was being said as happiness bloomed in her, and Sakura walked out the door.

Hinata got out of her hospital bed, her excitement giving her energy. She felt alive. She felt invincible. _"He said that I was important to his happiness! Me! He must have noticed me when… When I… Well, at some point, at least. I can ask Naruto-kun later! I can ask him about anything I want now!"_ She doubted that anything, even her father, would be able to darken her mood.

Her musings were interrupted by the door creaking open, revealing a familiar figure.

"Neji-nii-san!" Hinata's face lit up with happiness.

"Hinata-sama." Neji responded. He looked down at his hands, and for the first time since she had known him, he began to fidget nervously. Hinata stared incredulously at him. Neji was never uncertain. "Hinata-sama. I'm sorry. I failed you." Neji's hands clenched as he spoke, "I should have been there to stop your abductors, and I should have been the one to rescue you. Please accept my most humble-"

"N-No! I should be thanking you Nii-san! If you had come for me… If you had saved me, then I wouldn't be so happy right now!" Hinata's smile threatened to tear the top of her head clean off, as Neji stared at her in confusion. _"This obviously isn't how he envisioned his apology going." _Hinata thought wryly. She let herself sink back against the pillows of her hospital bed, and sighed contentedly. "He made me feel so special when it happened…"

Neji blinked at the non-sequitur, before understanding flooded his features. Disbelief quickly followed. "You mean Uzumaki Naruto _propositioned_ you?" he blurted out. Hinata shot upright in bed, staring at her cousin in shocked outrage, her mouth working desperately to find words that her brain failed to supply. _"I… He… What kind of girl does he think I am, anyway?"_

Neji continued to pace as he muttered to himself. "No, Naruto isn't that kind of guy. He wouldn't take advantage of my cousin just because she likes him. Sure he trained with Jiraiya-sama for all those years, but that doesn't mean anything, right?" Neji turned to Hinata, his eyes alight. "Hinata-sama. What exactly happened?" The expression on his face spoke of impending doom if he didn't approve of what he heard.

"Neji." Hinata's voice had a very unfamiliar cold note to it, despite the furious blush that was on her cheeks. "Exactly what do you think I did?" Neji actually backed up a few steps. "Well, you were just acting like Tenten after we… I mean… Umm…" Neji paused for a moment, and then sighed, defeated. "I know you wouldn't do anything, Hinata-sama. I just wanted to make sure that he hadn't tried anything."

Hinata nodded, then lay back down. "He said I was important to his happiness." Neji stared at her for a few moments, waiting for her to continue. "And then?"

Hinata sighed. "And then I passed out. But the way he said it… He's finally seen me!"

"Hinata-sama, maybe you should start at the beginning."

* * *

After Neji left, there was a lull in the visitors. Left alone in the quiet hospital room, Hinata began run through the hand seals for her new technique. _"Even though Naruto has finally taken an interest in me, there's no reason to become complacent."_ Hours passed, as Hinata lay on her hospital bed. Boredom slowly set in, and it was something of a relief when she heard animated voices outside of her room. One of them was easily identifiable as Naruto. The other sounded very familiar, though Hinata couldn't place the voice. Hinata opened the door a crack, curious to see who her Naruto-kun was talking to.

Hanabi stood in the hallway, leaning against Naruto. _"Is she smiling? Hanabi never smiles. She's too much like father to smile. Why is she leaning up against Naruto like that?"_ As if in response to her question, Hanabi reached over, and hugged Naruto.

"Thank you for finding my sister, Naruto-kun."

_"That's why it doesn't sound like Hanabi. She sounds so alive. Naruto really does bring out the best in people."_

Naruto wrapped his arms around her little sister in response, and grinned down at her slim figure. Hinata was touched. Her sister had been worried about her; and she got along with Naruto so well! _"Maybe one day, even father will accept Naruto."_

Naruto untangled an arm from Hanabi, and fished around in his kunai pouch for a second, before he grabbed something. He pulled it out to reveal a bright orange ribbon.

"I brought you something for your hair." Hinata frowned. Naruto was acting awfully familiar with Hanabi. _"Perhaps they've met before? Maybe Naruto-kun started to notice me after he befriended my sister."_ Hanabi smiled up at him, before tying her hair back with the ribbon.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hanabi looked up at Naruto through her lashes. "Naruto-kun… Why did you do it? You knew you might get into trouble if you left the village without permission."

Hinata gripped the wall, hearing an echo of her own question to Naruto. She wanted to hear him say it again. She wanted to hear how important to his happiness she was. Naruto looked down at Hanabi, and seemed to gaze into her eyes.

"Because, Hanabi-chan." stated Naruto, a gentle smile replacing his grin. He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand "You are my happiness."

Hinata felt the world begin to spin around her, and stumbled back from the doorway, which, as if to mock her, opened even wider, allowing her a clear view of Naruto bending down, and gently placing his lips over Hanabi's. Hinata felt her world end. She flung out her arm, knocking the door closed, before she flung herself onto her hospital bed, sobbing.

* * *

Naruto and Hanabi broke from their embrace, and walked down the hallway together. Naruto wrapped an arm around her waist, and Hanabi leaned her head against Naruto's shoulder, sighing in contentment. Naruto leaned his head down to whisper in her ear.

"She has a window looking out on to the street. We can't risk breaking form until we're off the hospital grounds."

Hanabi smiled and blushed, then turned to whisper back at him. "What do you mean not until we're off hospital grounds? I don't want anyone to think that I'm actually interested in that idiot. It's bad enough that the nurses have to see this, but at this rate, the entire village will think that I actually like that commoner!"

Naruto chuckled, and let his hand ride a little bit lower on Hanabi. "You will follow the plan." He hissed at her, his face showing nothing but the gaze of a lovesick fool. He darted out of her embrace for a minute, to hold the door open for her as she walked out of the hospital. Once outside, Hanabi again molded herself against Naruto's side. Glancing back as they reached the corner, Hanabi saw Hinata staring directly at her. Shooting her sister a triumphant smirk, Hanabi turned to Naruto and again pulled him down into a kiss. Digging her hands into the concealment his hair offered, she formed the seal to activate her Byakuugan. Hanabi shivered in pleasure at the expression of despair on Hinata's face. _"Serves her right. Only the strong deserve happiness, and Hinata is anything but strong."_

Giggling, Hanabi broke the kiss, and dragged Naruto around the corner. They didn't go more then ten steps before she stopped and looked directly at him.

"You were right. She stared at you all the way here. Who would have thought that after all the time she spent looking at him that she would have been fooled by something so simple?"

Naruto nodded thoughtfully. "I would agree with you, if I didn't know Hinata so well. Her insecurities have always been her weakness. We're just lucky that Hokage-sama confined Naruto to quarters after he ran off to rescue Hinata without official sanction. If he had shown up during our little escapade, we would have failed."

Hanabi looked at the boy before her, and sneered. "Remove that stupid henge, Neji. I don't want to be seen with the village idiot any more than necessary."

'Naruto' glared at Hanabi, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Do not insult my friends, Hanabi-sama. You would be wise to remember that in the ninja world it is important to cultivate teamwork, something that cannot be done if one is too confrontational."

Hanabi snorted. "Let's just get home. I need to disinfect my lips, though I doubt even boiling water would be sufficient. I feel dirtied after dealing with so many of lesser status."

Neji looked at her with a slightly haunted expression. "You aren't the only one who feels unclean after this, Hanabi-sama."

* * *

Neji stared at the front gates, and waited. Hinata was supposed to be coming home today, and Neji wanted to ensure that she was alright. He hadn't been able to see her since the horrible mission that Hiashi had sent him on. Even if it was for his own daughter's well being, Neji couldn't shake the lingering guilt over what he had been party to. Unclean didn't even begin to describe how he had felt as he had accepted the vial of medicine from Hiashi. He wanted to tell Hinata everything, but Fuki's safety would always come first in his mind.

The gates swung open on well-oiled hinges, and Hinata walked into the compound. Neji breathed a sigh of relief. If she was entering unaided, then she must have recovered sufficiently from whatever emotional upheaval he had inflicted on her. Neji went over to greet her.

"Welcome home, Hinata-sama. I hope-" Neji began. Hinata continued walking, not acknowledging him in any way. Neji went cold, as he watched Hinata walk the same slow measured walk that he had only seen once before. The day his father had died.

* * *

Hinata dully stared at the kunai. It was sharp. It would do the job. She could rest. It would be over. The door opened. Her father walked in. He said that she had to fight. She nodded. She left her room. She walked down the hall. She left the house. She entered the dojo. She entered the ring.

* * *

Hanabi would never admit it, even to herself, but she was slightly worried about the expression on her weak elder sister's face. It spoke of something deeper than melancholy, something that uncomfortably reminded Hanabi of someone… Ah yes. That Hatake Kakashi fellow. The lassitude in her gaze reminded her strongly of the expression that Konoha's famous copy-nin wore when he was visiting the memorial stone. It spoke of someone who had nothing left to lose, and Father had warned her once, long ago, about the dangers of someone with nothing left to lose. Hanabi could feel her lips begging to curl into a smirk. Even if she had no restraints holding her back, her sister had no hope of defeating her. Hanabi had inherited Father's will, while her sister had been deceived by the simplest of ruses, and seemed to be broken by it. This would most likely be the easiest fight of her life.

Hanabi looked around at the Hyuuga who had gathered. Practically the entire family, both main and branch, had arrived for the spectacle. The only people she didn't see were Neji's family. Neji was probably busy with his daughter, glad that she didn't have the family seal. Yet. Hanabi knew that her Father's words had left many openings for the child to be sealed. If Father wasn't going to seal the child, then she was, as soon as she defeated her sister, and became the de facto leader of the Hyuuga. It would be unseemly for a child of the branch not to wear the mark that was destined for them.

Her sister sank into a defensive stance as father walked into the match ring, her expression unchanging. Hanabi also sank into her stance, a more aggressive one than her sister was using. Father looked at her, and nodded slightly, before dropping his hand to start the match. The sisters both activated their bloodline, and Hanabi attacked.

* * *

Father's hand swept downward. Hinata activated her Byakuugan. Hanabi attacked, breaking her defenses. A Tenketsu was hit. Not important.

Block.  
Dodge.  
Dodge.

Something orange flickered over Hanabi's shoulder. Naruto? No. Naruto was gone.

Block.  
Dodge.  
Dodge.

Naruto had chosen her sister.

Block.  
Dodge.  
Block.

Hanabi smirked. "You know, Sister, I could kill you." Hinata lowered her head, hoping she would. "During the match or after, it makes no difference to me." continued Hanabi, smirk still in place. Hinata frowned. Something was wrong with that statement. Something she was forgetting. Something important.

_**"Promise me…"**_

Recognition flickered in Hinata's eyes. She remembered.

_**"Promise me you won't die…"**_

Hinata raised her head.

_**"…no matter what happens…"**_

Hinata changed her stance, ready to attack.

_**"…you can't die!"**_

Hinata looked at her sister. She had promised. Even if she had nothing else left, she still had a promise to keep. Her promise to Him.

* * *

Hanabi allowed an insulting smirk to show on her face. Despite her sister's feeble attempts to defend, Hanabi had hit several critical tenketsu on her sister's torso. Perhaps she should show her sister how worthless she was. The idea appealed to Hanabi in many ways.

"You know, sister, I could kill you." Hinata lowered her head, as if in pain. _"No, I want her to suffer more. I want her to beg before me, like the trash that she is. How dare she sully Father's name with her incompetence."_

"During the match or after, it makes no difference to me." continued Hanabi, smirk in place. Hinata raised her head, and Hanabi felt her smirk falter. There was something in her sister's eyes that she had never seen before. Hanabi, for the first time, felt intimidated by her sister. Hinata attacked.

* * *

Hinata threw a knife hand at her sister, and watched with detached interest as Hanabi slowly blocked. Again, a flicker of orange caught her eyes. _"Naruto-kun's ribbon…"_

Kick.  
Punch.  
Strike.

Hanabi seemed to be moving awfully slowly. There was something wrong with her movements. _"She took him away from me."_

Kick.  
Kick.  
Kick.

Hanabi stumbled back from Hinata, confusion showing on her face, and again the orange ribbon in her hair flicked before Hinata's eyes.

_"You STOLE him from me."_ Hinata threw a punch, and saw her sister attempt to dodge. Again, the ribbon flickered before her.

_"He should have been mine."_ Again, Hinata punched, but this time, she used the style Sakura had been showing her.

* * *

Hanabi struggled to defend herself against Hinata. _"What's happening? How is she doing this?" _A kick tore through her defences, quickly followed by a punch, and an open handed strike closed the tenketsu on her leading arm. Hanabi desperately wheeled about, trying to keep her sister from landing any more blows. A series of kicks landed on her body, as she desperately tried to remember the lessons her father had given her on defending herself, so long ago. Her sister never attacked her! How was she supposed to react? What was she supposed to do? An offhand punch that Hanabi failed to dodge hit her chin, making her ears ring and her vision swim. She felt her legs begin to fail her, and set her stance lower, trying to get her balance back. Another punch was coming, and Hanabi blocked, not willing to risk another blow to her head.

A sickening crack rang out, and Hanabi finally screamed, terror and pain overriding her controls. Her arm bent at a new location, obviously broken. Her sister didn't seem to notice. It looked like she was getting ready to hit her again.

She was.

* * *

Hinata continued her assault. The ribbon flickered again in her eyes. _"That should be mine."_ Hinata felt her jealousy boil again. _"You have everything. You have father's approval. You have the skills that I lack. You have confidence and poise. All I wanted was to have one boy. And you took him away. You took Him away from me."_ Hinata saw the ribbon. She deserved it. Hanabi had taken her Naruto away from her. She should have at least this much. She threw a punch, deliberately throwing it wide, to grab at the token of Naruto's favor. Hinata saw Hanabi, her eyes slightly glazed, attempt to dodge. A loud crack penetrated Hinata's mind, as she saw her sister's neck snap back at an unnatural angle. Hanabi crumpled to the ground.

Eyes wide in horror, Hinata rushed to her sister's side.

"Hanabi! Hanabi! No! I'm sorry! Please!" Hinata wept, as she saw her sister's chakra coils beginning to dim. She had seconds before her sister's soul fled her body.

_"What can I do? I have to save her! Naruto-kun would never forgive me if I killed her! I have to do something!"_

Hinata frantically thought back to the scrolls Sakura had shown her. Medical jutsu could be performed on any organic body. Even the dead could technically be healed if there was enough left of them, but because they had no soul to animate them, they remained dead. She needed a way to keep Hanabi alive long enough to get her to an experienced medic.

_"Chakra is formed by two separate sources of energy, both physical and spiritual… Since duplication is considered impossible, it is the purpose of this text to… seal an additional chakra source into a person."_

Hinata didn't know what had made her think of that passage, but whatever it was, she was grateful for it. If she had Hanabi's chakra system, she would technically have her soul, as well. Hanabi's body could be repaired, and they could figure out how to reverse the technique. Hinata's hands blurred, as she flew through the seals that she had memorized only a few days earlier. She didn't have much time.

Her chakra coils still looked to be intact as Hinata threw her hands down towards Hanabi's still form. There was a burst of heat in Hinata's body, and she could see her chakra system changing. It had worked! Her sister's soul was safe! Hinata looked at her sister's body, and reached out to pick it up, intent on getting it to the hospital so it could be repaired. _"Why is it getting darker here?"_ Hinata looked at the lines of chakra within herself. Her new chakra system was attempting to fill with chakra, but she didn't have enough left. _"At this rate, I'm going to suffer from…"_

* * *

_"…chakra exhaustion."_

Hinata looked around. She was lying in bed. Her sister's bed. Her father was kneeling next to her bed, expressionless, as always.

"Hanabi-chan. I see you're finally awake."

"Father?" Hinata whispered, "What…"

"Rest, now. You drained your chakra during the fight." Hiashi gave her a penetrating stare. "You didn't need to show off during your match. I know that I have impressed upon you the need to show that you are strong, but sometimes strength is best shown when it is understated."

Hiashi rose, and walked towards the door. "I will allow you the rest of the day to recover. Tomorrow, I expect to see you at breakfast as normal. Rest well, Hanabi."

Hinata blinked in confusion. _"Hanabi?"_

As Hinata questioned her father's odd behavior, Hiashi walked out the door, turning to talk to someone just outside the doorway. There was a brief murmur of words, and then Neji walked in to stand guard at the door.

"Neji-ni-san?" Hinata asked, staring at her cousin "What's going on? Where's Hanabi?"

"Hanabi died from her wounds shortly before you passed out."

"But where is she? I need to see her body! I need to know if she's still viable for revivification, if I… If I… can…" Hinata trailed off at the look on Neji's face.

"Hinata-sama. We had a medic-nin look over her wounds. She's not coming back."

"No! They don't know what to do! All I need to do is get to her body and-"

"Hinata! It's gone!"

Hinata stopped cold at Neji's statement.

"Hanabi is… gone?"

"Hinata-sama. You must understand. You were suffering from a severe case of chakra exhaustion. You've been unconscious for the last seven days. Even if you did know something that could bring her back, it would be to late now. Hanabi's body has already been cremated."

Hinata could feel tears in her eyes as she slowly repeated "She's… gone…"

_"I killed Naruto-kun's happiness."_

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi strode out of His eldest daughter's new room, internally seething with fury. Ten years of preparing Hanabi. Ten years of effort. Ten years of conditioning, to make sure that when the time came, He could control her. Ten years of work dashed in an instant, all because His eldest daughter had a flash of unwanted competence. He ground His teeth in frustration. His eldest daughter was totally unsuitable for His purposes.

"Father..."

Hyuuga Hiashi closed His eyes as the pounding in His head returned. A brief flicker of His chakra, and he appeared in his quarters in a burst of swirling leaves. It would not do to allow any weakness to show, no matter how fleeting.

"Father, help me, please. It hurts..."

Hyuuga Hiashi snarled at Himself. If only the Sandaime hadn't been alerted to the experiments, He would have had a much more efficient method to ensure his survival. Instead, that idiotic snake had been caught, and had subsequently fled Konoha. Now, He was suffering from some sort of backlash as a result of Hanabi's death. It was much like he imagined phantom pains would be like, telling him that she was in her room, lying down, instead of that useless little whore who had killed her. The echoing remains of Hanabi's voice through their link wasn't helping either. If they had made any sense, he might have thought that he was hearing her in the afterlife.

"She's eating me..."

Wherever Hanabi was, he hoped that she was suffering for her failure as much as the voice in his head was.

* * *

Hinata gazed listlessly around the memorial service, taking in the people who were paying their respects. Naruto wasn't here, something she was extremely grateful for. She didn't think that she could face him after she had destroyed what little happiness he had found with Hanabi. He had probably been at one of the services earlier in the week, while she was unconscious.

There was someone talking about Hanabi at the front. Hinata had trouble listening to the words, but she understood what was being said. "Strength, skill, credit to the family, affected all of our lives." Everything that she wasn't. She was a cowardly, useless, venomous thing that had killed her sister in a fit of jealous rage. No wonder Naruto had chosen Hanabi over her. Hanabi had probably had the courage to approach Naruto directly, and the insight to see how wonderful he truly was.

Tears coursed unnoticed down her cheeks, as she watched Neji get up to say his final words to her sister.

* * *

Neji struggled to keep the sneer off of his face as he made his way towards the podium. Never before had he been reminded so strongly of that mission in Katabami. _"How did Raiga put it? __'__Funerals are beautiful things__; __no matter what a person has done in life, in death, everything is forgiven, and only the pleasant things are remembered,' or something like that, at least. Hanabi's death is only unfortunate in the way that Hinata-sama is taking it so hard. Listen to them, singing her praises, as if she had been some sort of deity, come down to live amongst the mortals. Half of them despised her, and the rest thought even less of her than that."_

Neji gazed out into the sea of expectant faces, and wasn't really surprised to note that most people had expressions of guilty relief. The only person in the entire room who seemed to be even remotely upset was Hinata._"If Hinata wasn't so upset,"_Neji reflected,_"I'd tell them to stop lying to each other, and have a celebratory drink or two."_

Still, it would be extremely gauche to insult Hanabi at her own funeral, even if there was only one grieving relative in attendance, and Neji doubted that Hiashi would be very forgiving if he even hinted at impropriety. Neji silently vowed that even if he had to be respectful to the dead, he wouldn't join the ranks of the hypocritical morons who had spoken before him. He carefully cleared his throat. "I don't have much to add to what has been said," he began slowly, gathering up the small amount of positive things he knew about Hanabi. "Hanabi was very... passionate... in her pursuit of self-perfection, which kept her very tightly focused on what she was doing at all times. We can all learn something from her example." Neji nodded to the guests. _"Yes, that's probably the nicest way I can say she was a self-centered bitch who only cared what other people could do for her while she ruined the rest of our lives with her very presence. Rot in Hell, Hanabi. Why your sister mourns you, I'll never understand." _Neji walked back to his seat his gesture made.

Beside him, Hinata's silent tears intensified.

* * *

Hinata sat in her room, staring at the wall. Naruto would _never_ forgive her. The girl that he loved was dead by her hand. There was no way she could face him again. She should have conceded the match before things got out of hand!

"Hinata-sama" said a voice from the doorway, "We have a guest. Uzumaki Naruto has requested that he be allowed to pay his respects to your sister, and also wishes to meet with you." Hinata whirled to stare at the branch family member that had brought the news. _"Naruto-kun... Have you come to blame me for Hanabi's death?" _Hinata could feel the icy dread that came with the thought. She couldn't face him, to see the horror in his eyes, knowing what she had done to him. She wasn't worthy of seeing him. She had lost that right when she had killed Hanabi. If only she didn't want to see him so badly. "Please, let him into the shrine, but send him away afterwards. I do not want to see anyone right now," Hinata replied. Hinata watched as the servant left, torn between her desire to see Naruto and her fear of his condemnation. But still - surely it wouldn't hurt just to watch him. Surely she was still allowed that much, wasn't she? Shakily, Hinata activated her byakugan. _"Now, where is he... Ah, the front gate. Oh, no. Nonononono..."_ Naruto was already engaged in conversation with the servant. Hinata cringed back into her futon as she caught the expression on his face. He looked both crushed and angry, before all emotion left his face. To her surprise, he turned and stalked away from the gates. _"What's going on? He should have at least come in to pay his respects."_

Hinata reluctantly crawled out of her futon, and made her way down to the hallway to confront the branch family member. What could have made Naruto so angry as to have left? Surely the noble Hyuuga family wouldn't have allowed themselves to be contaminated by some vulgar belief that Naruto was dangerous, would they? As Hinata turned down the hallway to the gates, she received her answer.

Apparently, they would.

The servant she had sent to the gates was talking to another branch member, and was being fairly loud about it. "So, after he insisted that he be allowed to talk to Hinata-sama, I kicked him out into the streets. Besides, despite what Hinata-sama says, not even Hanabi deserved to have that _demon_ at her memorial. I mean, it even-"

**"How dare you!"** Hinata shrieked. The surprised servant turned around just in time to catch a right hook to the jaw. A sickening crack echoed through the room, but Hinata was too incensed to care. "I gave you specific orders to allow him into the memorial," Hinata spat out, "Yet you chose to ignore them for your own inconsequential concerns!" Her face twisted in fury, Hinata activated the man's cursed seal. His incoherent screams failed to satisfy her rage, and she began to kick his prone form. "If you ever speak so disrespectfully about Him again, then you had better hope that the shinigami take you before I do. They'll certainly be kinder." Hinata snarled at the figure, even as his screams began to fade.

"Hinata-sama - Please..." Hinata turned to see the woman that her servant had been talking to. The naked fear in her eyes snapped her out of her rage, and left her feeling cold inside. What was she thinking? She had been hurting a family member for revenge! No, more importantly, she had been enjoying it! Hinata squeaked and fled down the hallway, back to her own room. _"Why did I do that? What kind of monster am I? Hanabi never would have acted that way... Is this why Naruto chose her over me? Did he see this demon within me? Was I just too scared before to act on my anger?"_ That idea brought Hinata's thoughts to a screeching halt. It was true, she had been too afraid to act like this before. A strange clarity seemed to settle over her, as all indecision seemed to flow out of her. She still felt guilty and scared, but it was all but blotted out by a most unfamiliar feeling of confidence in her actions. That... mere servant had spoken out against Naruto, and it felt _right_ that he had paid the price in agony. And there were so many more people who looked at Naruto with damnation in their eyes. So many more people who needed to see that Naruto wasn't a monster. Wouldn't it be right to show them the error of their ways as well? Perhaps if she changed people's minds for Naruto, she could one day repay him for what she had taken away.

Hinata sat down to plan out what she could do, never noticing that she still had her Byakugan active.

* * *

Neji looked down at the form in the hospital bed. A member of the branch family had been beaten in the Hyuuga household, and there had been no witnesses. Or at least, Neji reflected, no witnesses who were willing to talk about what had happened. The woman who had found him had seemed a little bit too scared to not have seen something. Still, that was completely understandable; whoever had beaten the man had done a fairly thorough job, leaving him with a broken jaw, four broken ribs, and severe neurological damage, possibly caused by the head trauma. The doctors who had worked on him had very little hope of him ever waking up, although medic-nin had already mended his broken bones. Neji had to know if there was a potential threat to Hinata, though. He had betrayed her, and now he needed some way of making it up to her, even if it was something as inadequate as fulfilling his obligations to protect her. It was fortunate for him that there were a few safeguards built into the cursed seal for just such an occasion.

Neji placed a hand on the man's cursed seal, and slowly began to let his chakra filter through it. The man groaned slightly, and opened his eyes.

"Do you remember your name?" Neji asked. The man nodded.

"Hyuuga Makoto…"

"And you know who I am?"

Makoto blearily peered up at Neji for a moment, before he mumbled out a feeble "Neji-san".

Neji nodded at Makoto, careful not to remove his hand. "Very good, Makoto-san. Tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"

Makoto looked at Neji in befuddlement. "The last thing I remember?" The man looked around. "I was at the gateway to the mansion. There was a visitor... The Demon boy! Did that Uzumaki brat do this to me? I'll -"

Neji back handed the man across the face with his free hand. "Focus, Makoto. Naruto had already left the grounds when you were attacked. What happened next?"

Makoto stared at Neji in shock. "You... You hit me!"

"You'll get a lot worse if you continue to talk about Naruto like that, believe me. Now, what happened next?"

"I went to ask Hinata-sama what to do… She told us to let him in to the funeral, that de- boy… demanded to see Hinata-sama personally. He insisted that he needed to talk to her." Neji's stomach began to twist at that news, reminded that he had betrayed not one friend, but two. Oblivious to Neji's discomfort, Makoto continued "I told him to leave the grounds, and after a few tense moments, he left." The man began to tremble as recollection came to him.

"Then… Then Hanabi came… She hit me, and then... and then... I thought she was going to kill me! It hurt, Neji-san! It hurt so -" Makoto broke off as he began to convulse, and a trickle of blood began to run out of one of his ears.

Neji quickly removed his hand from the servant. It was a shame that that technique was so hard on its subject. Still, what he had said was of great concern. If someone was masquerading as Hanabi, then they probably didn't know that she was dead. That pointed to someone who wasn't from Konoha. A spy from Rock, perhaps, or possibly even the remains of Sound. Either way, he was going to have to increase the security around Hinata. She was fragile enough without running into a clone of her dead sister.

* * *

Hiashi sat in Hanabi's room, trying to convince his troubled mind that Hanabi was dead. He could still hear echoes of her presence in his mind. He sighed and put his aching head in his hands. He was so sure that Hanabi had been stronger than his eldest daughter. Every sign had pointed to the fact. But Hanabi had fallen. Had he made a mistake? Hiashi shook his head. _"No! I am Hyuuga Hiashi! Strongest in the strongest clan in Konoha! I have never erred!"_ Still, Hanabi had fallen...

Hiashi winced as the echo of Hanabi seemed to get closer. It was as if she were about to open the door to his room, but that was, of course, impossi-

"Father? Is everything alright?" came a soft voice from the doorway. The door slid open, and a girl walked in. Hiashi stared at the door in shock.

"Hanabi?"

"No Father, it's me. Hanabi is… gone … remember?"

Hiashi shook his head. Things were so hard to keep straight these days. The fact that no one else could hear it just meant that they were inferior, after all, He was perfect. He never erred.

"Here, Father. I brought you some water. I thought that you might be thirsty."

Hiashi nodded in acknowledgement at Hanabi only realizing now how thirsty he was. He gratefully drank back the contents of the glass, and went back to his thoughts, never noticing as his daughter left the room.

* * *

Hinata frowned as she walked out of her father's room, and slid the door closed behind her. An entire month had passed. No one could blame her for the steps she was about to take. If she was to be head of the clan, she couldn't allow her father's grief over his favored daughter to damage the family. No, it would be obvious even to Hiashi's most adamant supporters that he was no longer fit to hold power over the family. Hinata would have to take over the leadership position in the clan.

Hinata cringed as her father began to scream at whatever spectres he was seeing. _"I'm sorry it has to be this way father…"_ She slipped the small vial of hallucinogen she had dosed his water with into her sleeve, and walked away.

If anyone had been in the hallway at that moment, they would have heard the voice of a young woman repeating to herself "I'm doing it for him… I'm doing it for Him… I'm doing it for Him…"

* * *

To Be Continued.

So, we've finally made it to the point of the story where things begin to happen, as opposed to the set-up for the plot. Yay! Hopefully, the guy with the club behind me will ensure that you get the next chapter in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for this chapter go to TheAuditor, who functions as my alpha reader, and also as the guy with a club behind me saying "Write the next chapter, damn it!", and Marjolein222, my new beta reader. I expect great things from her. I would also thank Sir DoesNotAppearOnThisSite, TheRantling, for letting me rant for hours on end about what I was (and am) going to write.

Until next time!

A note on reviews: I like reviews. I really do. They're the way I tell if I'm doing something right, or terribly, terribly wrong. Let me know.


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